Family
by Sevv
Summary: Envy returns back to Central after two years living disguised as a human. They aren't expecting a welcome party or anything so ridiculous, but still, it's nice to be home, even if it's not exactly the warm welcome they hope for.


A/N pt1: Hi! Doing something a bit different to fill my need to try writing some homunculus family interactions. This is set maybe 25 years-ish before the Promised day, and I have taken some liberties with the timeline (Greed hasn't left yet, for example), but hopefully nothing too surprising!

* * *

Envy hadn't been home in a long time.

Two years, maybe more. They struggled to remember what it was like there after so long away.

Dark… dark and cold, and with a constant background noise of dripping water which they could never identify the source of.

But still. It was home.

They pushed open narrow, metal door down one of Central City's many side alleys, tutting at the rust and the way the entrance seemed to have fallen into disrepair recently. There was really no need to use the back entrance anymore, they supposed; not since Wrath had been sworn in as the Fuhrer and completed the work to link Central HQ to the sprawling tunnel system beneath the city. But this way was familiar, and the thought of assuming another disguise to navigate through HQ felt beyond unbearable so soon after finally being able to resume their favourite look.

Envy navigated the tunnels easily, feeling a small sense of pride that they could still remember them so clearly after so long away. A few things had changed, minor, but noticeable in the way that they felt tidier, somehow.

Was that Wrath's influence, they wondered?

Wrath had only been created recently, and Envy had spoken to him only a handful of times before being deployed to a small town in the South. He seemed fine enough; a little strong-willed, maybe, but then which of their siblings couldn't be described in that way?

They arrived at the main chamber sooner than anticipated, suddenly feeling nervous - not that they would acknowledge or admit it.

Envy glanced round, searching for a vaguely reflective surface among the metallic piping stretching over the walls.

Was their hair right? Didn't it used to be a little longer...?

Envy extended it with a quick flash of red sparks.

No, that was too long, maybe it had been right before?

And were their arms always so slender? They could really use a little more tone…

Random sparks flashed up around them, fixing the tiny details they desperately tried to recall.

How could they forget what they looked like? This design had taken years to perfect, it was a part of them… surely they had remembered it right?

"Whatcha doin'?" A lazy drawl startled Envy out of their paranoid brooding.

They spun on the spot, eyes instantly alighting on the tall, muscular figure of their elder brother.

"I- n-nothing."

Greed shrugged. "Didn't look like nothing. But whatever. Where ya been kid? I can't remember seeing you for," he paused and made a mocking, studious face, "oh, at least a few years."

Envy bit their tongue at the 'kid' comment. They were home and they were determined to enjoy it. Greed wouldn't get in the way of that.

"I've been in the South," they started, cautiously wondering how much they could tell him before he would start to make fun, and deciding that it wasn't very much at all. "Working."

"Ooh, riveting. I do love how much we share with each other." Greed's eyes twinkled with excitement that Envy knew from experience was proportional to how mad he could make them.

"Well, if you don't have anything interesting to say then I'm going to report in to Father." Envy gave a small toss of their head to show how little they were bothered by him.

"Well, don't let me keep you. I'm sure Father's _dying_ to hear what you've been up to," Greed smirked, revealing his rows of perfect, sharp teeth.

Envy wanted to have the final word, but the only thought in their head was: were their teeth alright?

They ran their tongue over them, wondering if they would know if they felt different after all this time. Nothing _seemed_ out of place. They bit down on their tongue, hard, wincing at the pain, but satisfied at the taste of blood.

Greed was looking a them curiously. "You're strange. You know that right?"

Envy turned away from him and took a step towards Father's main room. There was no talking to Greed in this mood, and they didn't want to fight him right now.

"Don't wanna worry you, but did your nose always stick out like that?" he called after them.

They nearly gave in to the impulse to reach out and check, but managed to fight it off. Greed knew - had always known, exactly which buttons to press.

Not today though. This was Envy's day.

XXX

The throne Father sat in looked the same as always. That was comforting, because a lot of other things in the room seemed to have changed. They tried not to let it bother them. Change was natural, it was nothing to get worked up about…

Envy took a deep breath to steady themself. They had forgotten how awful the air quality was down here, humid and still, the kind of air that only existed underground.

"Ah Envy. It's good to see you back." Father said, in his deep, resonant voice.

He stood up and stepped down from the platform where his throne resided, sandled feet making an echoey 'clack' around the room.

"Yeah, uhm… hi." Why were they feeling so awkward all of a sudden?

Envy spotted Lust and Gluttony lounging together in the deep shadows of the chamber. They were too far away to hear properly, but they could make out a distinct "it's Envy," in Gluttony's childlike voice.

"You look well," Father commented as he came to a stop in front of them. "You've been gone for far too long."

Was that his way of saying he'd missed them?

"Well, I'm back now." Envy said with a hopeful smile.

"Yes, indeed you are. It pleases me to have all my children together again." He sounded oddly emotionless despite the warm words, but that was just Father's way. Envy knew he cared about them all; he just didn't show it often - which was fine because they had had just about enough of familial affection in the last two years to last a lifetime.

And anyway, it just wasn't how the homunculi were. Father had said exactly what they had expected, and it was fine.

It was the welcome home they wanted, and the tiny twinge of emotion wasn't disappointment, it was nostalgia.

XXX

"Lust, Lust! Envy's here! Envy's back! You missed them didn't you Lust?"

Envy had to smile at Gluttony's voice as they made their way over to them once they were done giving their report to Father.

"Yes Gluttony. We all did." Lust met Envy's eyes, her face unreadable.

"I'm back!" Envy greeted them, spreading their hand in a half-wave and trying to sound enthused, but coming across a little awkward.

"How have you been?" Lust asked, seriously, ignoring their casual greeting.

Envy shrugged and moved so they were leaning their back against the wall, slowly sliding down it until they were sat comfortably on the floor. "Fine, I guess. But I'm glad to be… home."

"Home?" She sounded amused.

Envy shrugged again. "Isn't it?"

"I suppose. I'm just not sure I've ever thought of it that way before."

"Well, isn't it?" Envy asked again, more uncomfortably. They weren't seeking her approval… but... was the definition of home not where you spent most of your time, and where your family lived? It certainly felt like a home to _them_ …

It was Lust's turn to shrug. "Maybe. _Home_ is such a human concept, it's hardly important for us. What need do we have for _homes?_ "

She was right. It was a very human concept. Too human. Envy tried to convince themself they didn't care about being home anyway… they could almost believe it.

"Where did you go Envy? Are you going to leave again?" Gluttony asked, looking worried.

Lust caught their eye and quirked her mouth up slightly. "Envy was away doing business for Father," she answered for them. "The Promised Day isn't that long away now Gluttony, maybe in the next twenty-five years. I think we're going to be getting much busier, soon."

"Oh." Gluttony's face fell slightly, but then, "does this mean I get to eat more people?"

"Sure, loads and loads." Envy said with a vicious grin as Lust rolled her eyes.

XXX

Lust and Envy walked together through the tunnels as she showed them the changes they had made since they'd been gone.

Envy had been more than a little displeased that their old rooms had been cleared out; not that they'd ever had much of anything of their own- but the principle of it still stung. And even worse, before they'd had a chance to cause a fuss, Lust had told them not to be a baby about it, leaving them to sulk in silence at the injustice as she took them to their new space.

"Gluttony was right before, you know. We did miss you," she said quietly.

Envy felt their annoyance evaporating. "I missed you, too," they offered eventually.

They didn't usually feel so, so… sentimental. But they'd been away for a long time. It was expected that they might take a day or so to adjust.

"So what _were_ you doing in the South? Father was very cryptic about it."

Envy looked away. They could tell Lust, couldn't they? She'd understand it was for the good of The Plan, wouldn't she?

"I-I… Father needed me to transform into… someone," they said, changing their mind at the last minute.

"Who?"

"It's not important," they snapped, feeling guilty as her eyes widened in surprise at their unprovoked tone. "Sorry. It's just, it's… I'd rather not talk about it yet."

"Okay," she said warily. "Be careful around Greed though. You know he won't let it lie if he thinks he can use it against you."

Envy sighed in response. Nothing had changed in their tumultuous relationship with Greed, it seemed.

"He's not been himself, recently," Lust commented.

Was that sadness Envy detected in her voice? How unexpected.

"He's… distancing himself," she continued. "He thinks we can't tell. But we can… well, _I_ can."

"Good riddance," Envy muttered.

"Stop it Envy. You'd miss him, if he left."

"Left?" they scoffed. "Unlikely."

"Hmm, maybe. Anyway, we're here. This is your new room." She paused at the door, looking like she had more to say, but thought better of it. "Wrath's dropping by later, you should come and say hello."

And then Envy was alone again.

XXX

A tiny crate of Envy's things had been dumped in the room and there was a bed pushed up in a corner. It wasn't much. But it was theirs.

Envy hopped up onto the bed, tipping the crate up and pouring the contents out onto the mattress. It was all junk, of course; mostly consisting of a few souvenirs Lust had bought for them back when they were much younger, and an assortment of collectibles they had managed to steal away from Greed over the years. Nothing special. They should probably get rid of it.

Not now though, some other day.

Envy reached an apprehensive hand up to prod their nose, still feeling self conscious about Greed's earlier comment. They were sure that he had just said it to upset them, and so it was doubly irritating that he had succeeded.

It had been a while since they'd felt so insecure about their appearance; but then, they'd spent to past two years disguised as a boring, small-town house-wife, so most of their self-respect had been quashed - until today. At least they'd had the pleasure of killing her first, before assuming her worthless existence. Her murder was probably the most interesting thing that could have happened to her, Envy almost felt sorry -

No. They weren't thinking about it anymore. That part of their life was over now.

All the people they had met there were no longer important. The friendships had all been fake anyway, although Envy had gotten so good at pretending…

 _~ Hello. ~_ Pride's voice echoed around Envy's almost empty room.

"What are you doing in here? Don't you know it's rude to come into someone's room without knocking?" Envy snarled.

 _~ Now, now. Don't be angry at me just because I caught you off guard. ~_

"You didn't. I just don't want you here right now."

 _~ I just came to welcome you back. ~_ Pride's many eyes darted around the room and left Envy feeling unsettled.

Of all their siblings, Pride was probably who they had missed the least. Sure Greed wound them up, and they had been known to fight on occasion, and they had only know Wrath for a few weeks prior to their departure. But Pride just had a way of getting under their skin. Greed's insults were petty and skin deep, whereas Pride's were well thought out, and they always seemed to understand more about Envy than they did themself. It was unnerving.

"Well, consider me welcomed. Goodbye."

 _~ You don't seem very happy to be back. ~_ Pride observed, continuing to ignore them.

"I _was_. What are you doing here, anyway? Don't you have humans looking for their kid right now?"

 _~ Oh, I'm not doing that anymore, not for a while. ~_

"Oh?" they asked, curiosity piqued despite their irritation.

 _~ I'm taking a step back for a bit to direct Sloth. He's starting the tunnels. ~_

So soon? Things really did seem to be ramping up around here.

"And then what?"

 _~ In about fifteen years I'll go and live with Wrath. I'll need to keep an eye on everything going on in Central as we get closer to The Promised Day, so that's probably the best place for me to be. ~_

So much planning had been done since they'd gone away…

"Live with? You mean, be _Wrath's_ son?" Envy shuddered, it was freaky enough when Pride pretend to be a human child to a normal human family, nevermind to one of their own - rather him than they.

 _~ It's not so bad when you're used to it, ~_ Pride remarked. _~ And of course, playing along gets easier the more you practice. You'd understand all about that… right? ~_

Envy tried hard to miss that slight, sly edge which had crept into their tone. Right there, that was exactly how Pride operated. Starting a seemingly innocent conversation and then twisting it at the last moment into a sharp jab. And unlike with Greed, Envy couldn't really feel angry, because he was sort of right; it just left them feeling hollow, worthless… a failure.

 _~ What's the matter, Envy? Was it something I said? ~_

Envy turned their back on Pride, trying to hide how much his words had affected them. "I'll see you later."

XXX

Envy lay, curled up on their blanket-less bed for a while, trying to blot out Pride's words.

How had their Good Day turned into them moping around on their own?

Maybe their expectations of their family were too high. After all, although it was a big day for them, it was fairly unimportant for the others.

They rolled over, and the glint of one of Lust's souvenirs they had discarded earlier caught their eye. They reached out for it and ran their slender fingers along the intricate carving of the small, silver statuette. It was pretty in a delicate sort of way; Lust had told them she chose it because it made her think of them when she saw it.

Envy felt a small smile creep back onto their face at the memory. Lust was always so thoughtful with her gifts.

"I see you fixed your nose!" Greed's voice sounded from the doorway.

Envy looked up to see him lounging in the entryway. He had adopted a new jacket since Envy had been gone; they hadn't noticed it earlier, but it was obvious now. It was black leather, sleeveless, and adorned with a thick collar of pale fur. It suited him, not that Envy would ever tell him.

"Shut up, Greed," they spat back.

"C'mon, you've only been back for less than a day, you can't be having a temper tantrum already," he laughed easily.

Envy jumped up off the bed, shifting their weight carefully and planting their feet.

If Greed wanted to fight -

"Ughhh," Lust scowled from behind Greed. "Cut it out, you two. Wrath's here now, you should go and see him."

Envy and Greed relaxed visibly.

"Of course, sis. Let's go and see what baby brother wants." Greed gave a quick wink at Envy, a we'll-finish-this-later sort of wink, and followed Lust out of the room.

Envy swept the clutter off their bed and back into the box, regretting the violent action when they heard a slight cracking sound, but there was nothing to be done about it now.

XXX

Wrath was waiting for them in the main chamber, looking as formal, and as regal in his military blue uniform as Envy remembered.

"Hello there, I was wondering when you were going to return," he greeted in usual deep, jovial voice. "And hello to Lust and Greed, too. It's been a while."

"Indeed it has, Wrath. How are things up in Central?" asked Lust.

"Oh, nothing out of the ordinary. There's a bit of unrest in one of the Eastern cities - Ishval. But it won't be a problem."

"Isn't that where pops wants a crest of blood?" Greed reminded them.

"It is," Wrath said with a curt nod. "It's in hand, like I said. I just need to cultivate the disruption first, before we begin."

"Well I'm glad it's going well. And now you have another tool to add to your arsenal." Lust indicated towards Envy. They bristled a bit at the use of the word 'tool', but chose not to comment.

"Excellent, excellent. I have a lot of jobs for someone with your… unique ability. It's quite remarkable, you know." Hmm, maybe Wrath was alright.

"Oho, look - Sloth's here too!" Greed pointed out, gleefully.

Envy glanced in the direction of Greed's outstretched arm and noticed that, indeed, Sloth was stood against the wall with his eyes shut.

"Is… is he sleeping?" Envy asked incredulously.

"Believe it, kid," Greed laughed again.

"Somethings never change," agreed Lust.

So, here they all were. Lust, Greed, Wrath and Envy stood together in the middle; Sloth sleeping up against a wall; Gluttony cautiously padding across the floor to stand beside Lust; and Pride, lurking all around and casting shadows against the back of the chamber.

Together.

It wasn't much of a family. But, just like 'home', 'family' was a human concept. Useless and unneeded for a homunculus.

Envy's siblings were all power, strength and ferocity, compared to the weak human virtues of kindness and compassion. They were superior in every way. They didn't need those things.

They gazed around again, noticing a small smile spread across Father's lips from where he sat, loftily in his throne, looking down at his children.

No, families were worthless. But just incase though, the one Envy had wasn't all that bad.

* * *

A/N pt2: So, there you have it. I could ramble for hours about all my considerations while writing this, but I won't bore you. Any feedback on my writing of the homunculi (or anything else) would be extremely welcome, as aside from Envy, I haven't written much of the rest.

Thank you so much for reading! :D

Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist or any of the characters.


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